Combined stretching and stapling device



Jainyz, 1954 w. SPIEGEL ETAL COMBINED STRETCHING AND STAPLING DEVICE Filed Nov. 2. 1950 ff iil u HUH DA m4 W mM V a r ma@ m, mf. f wy, 4 M5 MY nD Patented Jan. 26, 1954 STAPLING? ll.,

William.` Spiegel and :Jacob =Spiegel=e Philadelphim-Ia.

Application November 2, 1950;. seriarNnflassggg1 1:` claimt; (cl. l11-45e):

This'inventiomreiates to a combined stretching and stapl-ing device Iof theegeneral-type disclosed inMcClure Patent2300`9,1#16 'and`Friedman Patent 1,798,664.

One object of the inventioneis-v toy producean improved device of thel type set forth.

In the iur trade it is necessary to stretch the hideand simulta-neouslylftotack it to aboard or Worlctable andyas far-as is-knownyall prior artdeviceslefl this type-were so constructed that the staplelwas-'driven a-llthe-Way-in. In other words. the horizontal or bight portion of aV standard, U -shaped staple was` driven-intotight` abutment with, or perhaps slightly intof-the surface ofA the hide: This makesitfdifcult te remove-the staples without damaging vthel hide:

It is. thereforea further object off the1 invention to produce a hide-stretching and-staplingdevice wherebythe staples arelonly partlyv driventhroughy the hide so thatthe stapleswcan.I be grasped-by their upper, exposed, portionsandpulledfout without` damaging the hide.l

If 'a staple is driven onlyf-partrwayinto thel hide, a conventional stapler-.canv4 only be moved away lfrom the partly driven. staple :by raising' thestapler high .enough to olea-r.' the upper portion` of the: staplewhich projects :above the-hide.:4 This` is so cumbersome and time consuming as toi-renden the` device impractical;Y

It is therefore afurther object of the invention to produce an improved stap-ler which can be moved away y from a partly driven-staple Without having to raisev the stapler above-thefupper projeetingportion of the Staplers-,

A hide may be stretchedjoy exerting apulling action on one edge'thereof or. trnlay, Where space is limited; have to be stretchedby egertinga pushing action on one edge thereof'.` VAlso, whenthe hide is stretched, by a pushing;` instead of `by 'a pulling, action, it is desirable' to providea xed barrier or straight edge against, or towardvwhich, the edge of they hide is to be pushed.

It istherefore a stillfurtherobject to produce an improved devioe'of the type set forth which is adapted for stretching; aV hidefbypushing as well as by a pulling action.

Afterthe edges have been-tacked in stretched condition, it is frequently necessary to tack intermediate portions of the hide Without any simultaneous stretching. n

It is therefore a stili further object of the invention to produce an improved device of the type set forth which is adapted for use as a stapler only or as a combined stapling and stretching device, Without materially altering the structure of the device itself.

2 These" and' other 'objectsrare-attained by this invention asv setvr forth in the folloWing-fspecicae tion and as shown-in'- theaecompanyingdrawing'- in Which- Fig. 1 is siderelevationahview-of combined' stretching and stapling device embodying theeinvention, the same'being vshown-when not-in user' Fig; 2- is a view; partlyin sectionyandpartly' in elevation, of the device shownfin Fig. l. theI same beingv shown when used--`forepu1ling#andstaplingf' a hide to a work table. i

Fig. Y3l i's an enlargedtkviewoff theportionof Fig. 2 which is bracketed `with' broken linesi Fig. 4 isY an enlarged, rra'gmentary, lhorizontal' sectional-view illustratingethe 'use-off the# device for pushing theedgeotitheehidertoward astlraig-li'tv edge,

Fig. y51s a fragmentary"view'showinghow they lower j aw may be lockedii'r closed -positionwhen the'V device is tobeused forfstaplingfonly The-A stapling'- 'devieei'shownmmay'f exceptas pointed out below.' beconventional andfas such; it includes' the usualVJ magazine"1i)v` for storing a quantity ofl staples, aisprhig'iloaded pusher- I2 for. pushing thestaples If4 to aposition-v-to be struck by hammer I6 Whiclr--is operatedfby-impactapi plied to knob or head 48; The-'operationof the stapler thus f far-l describedr that is the driving; successively, of individuall staples is 'conventionali and is therefore-not showrrnordescribedinh detaih Inl order to adapt thefstapling device -tograsping yand -pullingthe edge-V` ofNv aK hide; or" theA like,-

it is provided -1 With anf upperfxed serrated jaw 20 formedom-or suita-bly-secured-to'theiunderside' of the stapler bodypandfalower movable Serrat-ed jaw4 2v2l which' is pivoted-at 24'=-tof the bodyof the stapling device'and whichvis Vactuated by meansl of handle-or lever 26i aThe handle Z-Bisjnormally biased, by a' springf28`, -to'the-upper Apositionof; Fig. 1 in which the movable jaw 22--moves=away from xed jaw '25), itbeingf'understoodthad when the handle ismoved, against theI actionA of spring 28, to the lower position o-f Figc 2; thelowertjavvf 22 movesv into abutment withl upperv-jaw 26 soas' firmly to clamp the fedgesofahide -or otherfsheet material 3U to be stretchedand: tacked' sto aboardor a work-table' 32"detachablyl-mounted' on a` support .'i l By l-thefconstruction thus f far de-P scribed, the 'edgeofi 'a3 hide can be 'grasped -a-nd` the hide stretched to the desired extent and in the desired direction over work table 32 and, by means of a blow applied to knob I8, a staple I4 will be driven through'the hide and into the work board.

If the bottom edge 36 of the stapler were to come into contact with the hide. as it would in 3 conventional staplers, the staple will be driven all the way in. But, by the interposition of the jaws and 22 between the bottom edge 36 of the stapler and the support 32, the staple can be driven in only part way. In other words, when the hammer I6 reaches its lowermost position, it will be flush with the bottom edge 36 of the stapler and the staple will only be driven to the extent shown in Fig. 3. It is true that the extent to which a staple is driven can be controlled by.

shortening the stroke of the hammer I6 but that involves making changes in the structure of the stapler itself. This would not be desirable because of the re-tooling costs and because shortening the stroke of hammer I6 will make the stapler useless for ordinary use. By this invention, the stapler construction is undisturbed so that if the jaws are dispensed with a completely operative conventional stapler will remain.

When it is desired to remove the staple, it can be grasped by its upper.l exposed portion and pulled out without the necessity of digging it out of the hide which would be necessary if the staple were driven in until the cross piece or bight portion 38 thereof abuts tightly against, or is somewhat embedded in, the surface of the hide or other material. It will be understood that the thickness of the jaws 20 and 22 should be such as to accomplish this purpose but that it is not otherwise critical.

The device is further provided with a rigid bar 44 which serves as a handle for carrying the stapler and for providing a fixed surface towards which the lever 26 is moved to actuatethe lower jaw 22 to the clamping position of Fig. 2. A linger rest 46 is preferably provided at the lfree end of the handle 44 to prevent the device from slipping out of the handvof the user. When the stapler is not being used to stretch the hide but merely for fastening it to the board 32, the jaws 20 and 22 are locked in closed position.

In order to clamp the lower jaw 22 in its closed position when the device is to be used for stapling only, a U-shaped latch 46 is pivoted to the end of the handle 44 and is adapted to engage the adjacent end of lever 26 in the manner shown in Fig. 5. The bight portion of the latch 48 is preferably of wedge or cam shape, as shown at 50 in Fig. 5, rmly to hold the lower jaw in closed position regardless of inaccurate manufacture or of reasonable yielding of lever 26 or handle 44.

When the stapler is to be used for stretching the hide by exerting a pushing action on the hide, instead of by pulling it, the jaws 20 and 22 are locked in closed position and the bottom serrated surface 42 of the lower jaw is brought into engagement with the hide. Then, by pushing downwardly and forwardly, the hide is stretched in that direction.

It is sometimes necessary, in stretching the hide by a pushing action, to bring the edge of the hide close up to or against a fixed barrier or straight edge 52. But, with the lower portion of the front wall 53 removed, the staple is exposed and abutting the nose of the stapler against straight-edge 6 52 will wedge the staple against the straight edge and will interfere with the movement of the staple. To guard against this, the upper jaw 20 is provided with forwardly projecting bumpers 54 which are disposed on either side of the staple and which, as shown in Fig. 4, abut the straight edge while the staple itself remains spaced from the straight edge. By this arrangement, the edge of the hide can be pushed up against the straight edge andl the staple remains free to move.

From the foregoing itwill be seen (1) that the jaws 20 and 22 can be used to grasp and pull the hide, (2) that they can be locked in closed position and used to push the hide, (3) that they act as a spacer'to limit the extent to which the staple is driven without the necessity of making any change inthe hammer actuating mechanism, (4) that -by cutting away the lower portion of the front wall .530i the stapler, the stapler can be backed off from'apar'tly driven staple instead of having tobe raised above the staple which, unless done with extreme care may bend or wholly dislodge the partly driven stapler, (5) that the bumpers 54 permit the edge of the hide to be pushed up against the straight edge while preventing the exposed side of the staple from contacting the st raight edge.

While the device has been shown as adapted for driving staples, it is to be understood that the various improvements above disclosed can be readily applied to a device of the type which drives nails such as that disclosed in the Friedman patent above mentioned. Therefore, in the appended claim, the word staple is to be understood as including nails or the like.

Whatwe claim is:

A combined stapling and stretching device including a magazine adapted to contain staples, a driving hammer, means for moving said staples to a position in which they can be struck by said hammer, a xed jaw carried by, and projecting below, the face of the device which faces the material into which the staples are to be driven, a movable jaw pivoted below said fixed jaw, and a lever for moving said movable jaw to a first position in which it abuts said fixed jaw, and to a second position in which it is spaced from said xed jaw, the abuttingsurfaces of said jaws being roughened for frictional engagement with said material.

WILLIAM SPIEGEL. JACOB SPIEGEL.

References Cited in `the file 0f this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Germany Feb. 17, 1939 

